


Funnel Cakes and Dunk Tanks, but Not in That Order

by fluffynarwhal



Series: Mac and Roper's Countdown to Halloween [3]
Category: Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Explicit Sexual Content, Halloween Night, Light Dom/sub, M/M, mac is a weepy thing, marriage????????, roper's dumb ass shorts make mac crazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:27:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27259408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffynarwhal/pseuds/fluffynarwhal
Summary: Roper is loud with his love, and it makes Mac weepy when he thinks about it too much.
Relationships: Glen McReynolds/Kenny Roper
Series: Mac and Roper's Countdown to Halloween [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983593





	Funnel Cakes and Dunk Tanks, but Not in That Order

**Author's Note:**

> part three hehehe :) 
> 
> the last part will be posted on halloween, probably sometime in the morning if i'm lucky. 
> 
> Mac's texts are in italics, and Roper's texts are in bold. 
> 
> happy reading <3

Mac sometimes finds himself stuck in a daze, staring off into space, thinking about how lucky he is to have Roper in his life.

He doesn’t think of himself as a sappy romantic, nor does he voice how he’s feeling like Roper does. It’s not that he doesn’t feel things like love and admiration, Mac just has his own way of showing his appreciation.

Mac is a tactile person; he always has been around those who mean something to him. Whether that be a shoulder squeeze, ruffling someone’s hair, or touching his knee or foot to someone else’s, it just meant he valued that person as a friend. It happened mostly around Roper, Finn, and Coma, but that was partly because they were the first group of friends Mac found for himself in college. Even when he got closer to the upperclassmen, it was always the original three he was more possessive towards.

Once Roper and Mac figured their shit out in terms of a relationship, that tactile attitude got more intense, but only with Roper. Mac would find himself sitting in a class they shared together with his ankle hooked around Roper’s and his arm behind Roper’s chair, thumb rubbing his back. They’d be at practice and Mac’s hand would linger when patting him on the back. Even at parties, Mac always needed to have some part of his body touching Roper at all times or he’d feel slightly unhinged. At night when they went to bed, he’d curl himself around Roper like an octopus. (He won’t ever admit it, but if Mac isn’t able to touch, hear, or smell Roper beside him, he can’t sleep peacefully through the night. And Coma’s a rat bastard for calling him out on it.)

He doesn’t voice his appreciation as often because Mac feels like his tactile behavior is somewhat more telling than words. He even finds himself getting small things, like rare bottles of aftershave that Roper likes, specific seasonal ice cream, and that one time he bought tickets to one of Roper’s favorite musicians. Those are just simple little actions, but the look on Roper’s face makes it all worth it. Plus, it has never bothered Roper before, that he’s aware of anyway.

While Mac uses touch and small acts to show his love, Roper is the complete opposite. If it were up to him, Roper would climb to the top of a building and scream out to the world how much he’s in love with Mac. He’s loud and booming with it; at dinner with their families; after a baseball game in front of Mac’s players; in the middle of Walmart on the canned goods aisle; at a bar while they’re dancing to bad country music; in their bedroom as Mac rides him into the mattress.

He buys Mac’s favorite candies and makes him breakfast in the mornings. He brings him lunch on busy game days. He brings Mac’s baseball team their favorite flavor of Gatorade and fruits and snacks at the end of a game and cheers them all on when they score runs. He sits through the cold and blistering heat just to watch them practice some mornings. He’s always posting on his social media accounts about how proud he is of Mac, his team, and the school.

Roper is loud with his love, and it makes Mac weepy when he thinks about it too much.

It’s a Friday morning, and Mac has spent most of the morning going through his emails and responding to his players about their grades, homework, and general questions or concerns. He had a meeting with the athletic director to go over game schedules for the season when he first got to campus, and another meeting two hours later with the football coach to talk about the Halloween night both teams are helping with. After he was finished with that, he went back to his office to start talking to his boys to pass on the message.

One of the students emailed back asking if Roper was going to come too, to which he assured the player he’d do his best to bring him.

It just – the thought of his players getting attached to his boyfriend was enough to make him smile to himself, all giddily. Mac knows Roper loves those kids, and he welcomes them each year into their small family with open arms. They both know how rough college ball can be for a freshman, so they do their best to make it a bit more welcoming.

God, Mac really wants to marry him.

And that thought alone makes him spiral.

Marriage has come up a few times in their relationship. It’s not like Mac is actively avoiding the concept, he just hasn’t spent a lot of time discussing it with Roper. And sure, he wants it to be a surprise, and he wants to ask Roper’s parents for their blessing because he’s traditional, but it hasn’t come up a lot. Plus, Mac wanted to discuss everything from documents, last names, changes they’d have to make at the post office and the school, making sure all the guys were able to attend, and both of Mac and Roper’s parents too - the thought of marriage is wonderful and exciting, but Mac needs to have everything planned out and squared away before he even thinks about buying a ring. 

And if that’s not too much for him to handle, the thought of standing in front of their family and friends and talking about his feelings makes him physically ill. 

He just - he can’t put into words what Roper means to him. Roper is like a fucking galaxy sometimes. There are things Mac is still learning about him as the years go, and he doesn’t ever think he’ll know everything. He’s not scared by that fact; no, quite the opposite. Roper is a galaxy, with trillions of stars that make up who he is as a person. He’s bright, so fucking bright it makes Mac _ burn. _

If he tried to explain that metaphor in front of everyone, he’d butcher it completely and end up calling Roper a planet or some shit. 

Yes, he’s probably overthinking it. 

He’s definitely overthinking it. 

At first, Mac assumed Roper didn’t want to get married at all. Back then, in college, gay marriage wasn’t legal in Texas. It wasn’t a topic brought up at all because there was a mutual understanding that it wasn’t feasible unless they traveled to another state. So, because Roper wasn’t saying anything, and Mac definitely wasn’t saying anything, he just thought Roper would be happy to be with him in whatever context they could get. 

And then the bill passed, and gay marriage was legal across every single state. 

Mac remembers that day, every tear, hug, and congrats they experienced. Mac was holding a summer league game for most of his players that wanted to join. It was the last game of the summer, so Roper and both of Mac’s parents came to support him. About halfway through the game, Roper jumped out of the stands and ran over to the dugout to show Mac. 

Thankfully, the umpire called an intermission and Mac and his family, and of course his players, took the allotted twenty minutes crying and cheering and hugging in the dugout. 

A few days after, Roper was in the process of drilling Mac through the couch when he leaned down and whispered, “I’m going to marry you one day,” making Mac come so hard he blacked out. 

That was a wonderful moment he thinks about quite often. 

Someday soon, Mac is going to work up the nerve to do it. He knows it. 

He finally comes back to himself thirty minutes later when someone slams a door down the hall. Mac shakes himself out of it and rubs at his eyes, forcing the potential boner situation away. He stands up to stretch for a bit before reaching for his desk drawer to pull out a butterscotch candy. 

Those fucking candies. 

He wills himself not to cry. 

Fuck, he’s definitely on the verge of tears. 

Mac glances at the clock and pulls his phone out, knowing Roper won’t have another class for a good twenty minutes.

_ << I love you _

It’s simple, and Mac doesn’t know why he sends that out of everything else he could say, but with thinking about marrying him, his team obsessing over him, and the fact that he’s ass over tits in love with him, it just slips out before he can take it back.

Roper’s response comes within seconds.

**> > please tell me you’re not in jail**

Mac scoffs and smiles despite himself.

_ << youre an idiot _

_ << why would I be in jail and texting you? _

**> > you normally wait until my 11:30 class to start spamming me and begging for attention**

**> > figured it was either jail or you wanted nudes**

Mac snorts, opening the camera and snapping a picture of himself in his office chair, angling it so Roper can see that he doesn’t have a boner and isn’t asking for nudes, nor is he in jail.

_ << attachment.1 _

_ << I won’t say no to nudes you know that _

_ << I was just thinking about you _

_ << my boys are obsessed with you _

_ << and those stupid candies you buy me made me emotional _

It only takes a moment for Roper to respond to Mac’s multiple messages.

**> > you’re weepy aren’t you?**

**> > oh my god you’re weepy in your office because your players like me**

**> > and you like my candies**

**> > no pun intended**

Mac rolls his eyes and shifts, clearing his throat and pressing the call option on his phone.

“You’re an emotional sap and I love you very much,” Roper greets when he answers his phone, a smile apparent even through the line.

“Love you too, asshole,” Mac replies, trying to keep his tone neutral. “How’s your day been?”

Roper hums and it sounds like there’s shifting of papers. He’s probably sitting at his desk waiting for the next class to come in. “Not bad,” he sighs. “I gave that test to my 8 a.m., and graded some of the labs my afternoon classes turned in. The department chair came by and asked if I’d help mediate a midterm coming up.” Roper coughs. “But enough about me; how’s your morning been? Not too weepy?”

“Ha ha,” Mac huffs. “Meetings this morning about the Halloween night baseball and football is hosting. Made sure all my players are staying up on their classes and studying for midterms. You still in for that?” he asks.

“You know I’m there,” Roper says. “At this point, they should know we’re a package deal. I help every year with waffle night. Oh jeez, do you remember that one two years ago during spring finals?”

Mac chuckles at the memory. “God, the VP was so mad about all the batter in the library.” Waffle night is a thing Baylor does every year. Faculty members, professors, and coaches get together to spend the entire night baking and serving waffles to students studying last minute for their finals. Usually, there’s four volunteers on each side of the library to keep a steady stream of waffles and coffee ready for exhausted students. The year Mac and Roper helped ended with Roper sprawled across the floor smothered with batter and surrounded by cackling baseball players.

It was safe to say the pair got excused early and went home around 3 a.m.

“To be fair though, the team I had that year were merciless with their pranks,” Mac says. “You had no chance to hide from them.”

“But yeah, Halloween night is good for me. Remind me to get it marked on our calendar at home so I remember,” Roper replies. He takes a moment before laughing at himself. “I just realized how much we sound like an old, married couple.”

Mac is stunned into silence, his thoughts about marriage taking over his mind. Again, with a vengeance. 

Roper doesn’t miss a beat though, immediately switching up the conversation. “Hey, I gotta go get ready for my next class, but I’ll get out of here early. Fajitas sound good for dinner?”

“Um – yeah, that – that sounds good,” Mac says, trying to calm his heartbeat and shaky voice.

“Text me when you leave campus. Love you, have a good day.” Roper hangs up the call before Mac can respond, but he isn’t sure he could without sounding like an absolute mess.

He spends the next hour searching for engagement rings, and then panics and deletes his search history before going to find his assistant coach to annoy.

* * *

“Oh, fuck,” Roper whines, leaning back against the wall of the deserted dressing rooms, winding his fingers through Mac’s hair and tugging hard as he thrusts his hips.

How did Mac end up here, on his knees with Roper’s cock down his throat?

Well, it’s because Roper’s a dirty little minx and chose a public place to throw on some daisy duke style shorts and show them off for Mac. And honestly, Mac doesn’t know the exact definition for the word ‘sin’, but he does know Roper is a dead-on match; what, with his legs that have smoothed out over the years, the curves of his hips, and the way his ass looks bigger than normal under the tight fabric of the shorts.

Mac’s mouth absolutely watered, and his stomach twisted up in knots.

He just managed to get them inside the changing room before he dropped to his knees, shoved Roper against the mirror, and sent the man a silent glare to keep quiet.

One thing that Mac has learned through the years of being with Roper is that when they’re angling for a sneaky blowjob, the best thing to do is make it sloppy and quick. Roper definitely gets off on being worshipped sometimes, spending hours with him on his back or stomach while Mac traces every inch of his body with his mouth. It’s something that Mac can do to show Roper how much he loves him.

But other times, when Mac knows he’s short on time or in a tricky spot, the best way to get Roper off is to make it fast and filthy. It’s usually a rare occurrence to get each other off in public like this, and Mac can’t remember the last time he actually went for it. The excitement may have something to do with Roper having a professor kink – which is the hottest thing Mac’s ever figured out about him – and something about it being quick makes it seem dirtier. Mac doesn’t question his boyfriend anymore, just rolls with the punches.

So yes. Mac is on his knees and ignoring the gnarly carpet burn he’s going to have later, keeping his hands against Roper’s hips to let him fuck his throat. He has a hand on his own cock, feeling the familiar fire in the pit of his stomach despite trying to starve his orgasm off.

He chances a glance up at Roper’s face, only to find him staring back intently, biting his bottom lip to keep his sounds muffled. Both of Roper’s hands are tugging against Mac’s hair, moving his head up and down along his cock.

And god, that alone does weird things to Mac’s head. That feeling of Roper using Mac’s mouth to take his own pleasure. Even though Mac did jump him the second he saw the shorts, it's the knowledge that Roper can actually just take from Mac, and he’d gladly let him do it. 

There was this one night they played around with bondage and Mac had his hands tied behind his back, Roper refused to fuck him properly and ended up getting off just thrusting into Mac’s hands.

Roper mentioned he was like a service bottom, and yeah – Mac can understand that.

Mac digs his fingers into the meat of Roper’s thighs just as Roper tightens his grip on his hair. He lowers Mac’s mouth and holds him almost flush against him, Mac’s nose nearly touching the coarse hairs above his cock. Mac swallows around him and breathes deeply through his nose. Roper waits a few seconds before lifting him back up, letting Mac gulp in a breath before repeating the process and holding him for longer.

There’s a split second where Mac’s brain goes mushy, and he gets that nice floaty feeling in his head, pulsing down his neck and into his chest. He closes his eyes and lets it wash over him, right down to the base of his spine. Mac hears a Roper mumble something from far away, and soon, Mac’s lifted off his cock to breathe again.

There’s a twitch in Roper’s stomach, something Mac knows to mean he’s getting close. Mac takes one of his hands, swipes his fingers along his chin to wet them, and drags them to Roper’s hole, just circling and teasing. Roper curses something deep and husky in his throat, and Mac takes a second to gather his bearings – despite his brain of mush – and doubles back down as he pushes his middle finger into the blinding heat of Roper’s body. 

Roper comes hot down Mac’s throat, tensing and dropping his jaw. He releases Mac’s hair and bites down on his fingers to muffle his moan. It’s the combination of the events that have Mac managing two more strokes before he’s following suit with a grunt around Roper’s cock.

“Holy fuck,” Roper whispers, legs shaking and stomach tensing. “We haven’t done that in years. Fucking Christ.” Mac pulls away and wipes at his mouth, gulping in a breath that makes him feel tingly. “Come here, you maniac,” Roper says with a feral look in his eye. He yanks Mac to his feet and steadies him when Mac wavers. His knees aren’t like they used to be unfortunately.

Mac lets Roper guide him into a sweet kiss that makes the filthy defilement of the dressing room seem sweet somehow. His breath puffs out heavily as he tries to return the kisses, and before he can get himself under control, Roper pulls back with a concerned look. “I’m okay,” Mac assures him, voice sounding ragged to his own ears.

“Are you sure? You looked kinda far away for a second,” Roper asks, keeping him close and rubbing his hands along Mac’s face, shoulders, and back. “Take a minute, if you need to.”

“You’ll never be able to wear those shorts out in public. I can feel myself getting a complex,” he says, breathing heavily and resting his forehead against Roper’s. He clears his throat in hopes that helps, but knows it’ll take a bit for it to level out again. He swallows thickly and lets Roper kiss him again.

“All the more exciting for me, sweetheart,” Roper giggles – honest to god,  _ giggles _ – to himself.

“Don’t call me sweetheart. You just fucked my throat.”

Roper scoffs and tugs at a piece of Mac’s hair. “Yeah, after you attacked me and pulled my cock out in the middle of a department store. Your knees aren’t as forgiving as they used to be, babe.”

“Oh my god,” Mac groans. He drops his head to Roper’s shoulder and buries his face in his neck. “We really are ancient.”

That startles a barking laugh from his boyfriend and Mac grins despite himself. “Come on, let’s buy our shit and go home,” Roper suggests. “I want enchiladas tonight and it’s your turn to cook.”

Mac pulls himself together, getting dressed properly and getting all of their things in order. It takes a bit, considering Roper has to change out of those ridiculous fucking shorts and organize what piles are being bought, but he finally manages it.

“Um,” Mac stutters, seeing the pair of shorts on the very top of the keep pile. Roper stops his trek to the front of the store and stares at Mac invitingly, lifting an eyebrow. “I – um – are you really getting those?”

Roper glances down to the shorts and smiles a predatory thing that Mac absolutely hates. He always gets that look when he’s about to fuck Mac up, either sexually or physically – sometimes both. Roper gets right up in Mac’s face and turns on the sex eyes. “What? You think I’m leaving them here after what you just pulled?”

“Well – I – “

“I’m taking them home,” he purrs, placing one hand against Mac’s stomach, “and I’m going to give you a complex.”

And yeah, Mac knows it’s not the sexiest thing to ever come out of Roper’s mouth, but he doesn’t even care. There’s already ten fantasies of his that involve those shorts and he’s willing to bet he’ll live every single one of them.

The two of them don’t get much sleep that night. They spend their Friday night sweaty, rung out, and covered in far too much jizz for their age.

Roper makes all of Mac’s fantasies come to life with those stupid shorts, and Mac falls asleep early Saturday morning with a smug grin on his face. They definitely feel their age the next morning, but Mac savors in every second of it when they go to the kitchen at 1 p.m. for waffles, looking exhausted and happy.

* * *

Halloween night at Baylor consists of three things: costumes, food, and theme park-esque rides and booths.

Well, four things if you count the ridiculous college kids running around chasing children in their scary costumes.

The entire thing is held as a reward for students getting their midterms finished and letting them let loose for a few hours. As usual, the baseball and football players spend most of the day before it starts assisting in getting all the rides and booths set up, going to the Sam’s grocery store to get extra food and drinks, and then disappearing for an hour to put their costumes on.

Mac specifically stated that the theme was centered around the supernatural, so most of his boys show up at a quarter to 7 p.m. dressed in everything from ghosts to werewolves. He thinks he even saw his shortstop wearing what looked to be face paint that resembled the scary looking nun from that one movie franchise. When football shows up, Mac knows they took their theme of monster hunters to heart, proudly sporting nerf guns decorated to look like the ones from GhostBusters and full costumes to match.

He and the football coach spend a few minutes giving the normal speech to their players –  _ don’t do anything stupid, act your age, don’t scare the kids too much, and don’t get anyone hurt _ . There’s a few questions about job duties and stations that Mac answers swiftly, and before he knows it, they’re all setting off in search of their positions. The football coach gives him some last-minute info about his own station before he’s off too, leaving Mac to his own devices.

When the clock hits 7 p.m., Mac heads over to the music station to give the DJ a signal to start the music, and stops by each booth, ride, and food option to make sure they’re set up and ready to go. His boys are managing most of the smaller booths that are fair games and leaving the heavier stuff to the professionals they hired for the event.

This year, Mac and Roper are going to be covering most of the behind-the-scenes action like checking for food shortages, drink shortages, and various other tasks just in case they need to run to Walmart for anything. Mac has two empty money bags in his back pockets in the event that someone runs out, and Roper is carrying a clipboard that’s keeping track of all things food and drink.

The night starts off fairly easy, the two of them making their rounds as they stop every once in a while to mingle or grab a drink. Roper ends up having to rush over to the ATM near the dorms to grab some change for one of the game booths, but other than that, it’s been calm.

Most of the food booths that are brought in are normally food trucks stationed downtown and at the stadium for games, and they’ve been helping out with Halloween night for a good two years now. This year, Baylor pulled in a favor and brought some of the game booths and carnival rides in from the State FairGrounds up in Arlington. Mac thinks the trade off had something to do with Baylor having some of their football players go up for a few days next year when it opened back up again.

When Roper gets back to the grounds, Mac is finishing up checking off a funnel cake booth for inventory. Roper drops off the change where it was needed and finds him scarfing down half the funnel cake, face covered in powdered sugar.

“Sometimes I think I need to carry a pack of baby wipes with me,” Roper grins, pulling a napkin off the counter and wiping Mac’s face with it.

“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to see that thing you do with your face,” Mac replies, tearing a piece of the funnel cake off and popping it into Roper’s mouth.

“ _ Wha fah _ ?” he wonders, mouth full.

Mac feels a little of his heart expand. “Come on, I want to make sure my outfielders aren’t acting like gremlins.”

After making their way over to the ring toss station, Mac finds two of his outfielders chasing down two linemen and trying to wrangle them over to the dunk tank, which is empty and looking quite inviting. He glances over at Roper to make sure he’s not watching him before Mac pulls out his phone and texts the football coach, instructing him to free up the tank in a bit. The coach texts back an affirmative and Mac pockets his cell.

“I’m going to make them run if they hurt anyone,” Mac sighs, resigned to his fate. Just about that time, one of his boys, Johnson, pulls one of the lineman over to the tank and pushes him over the side of it, drenching his clothes. Johnson shouts in victory and immediately pales when he looks over to find Mac staring at him.

“You know,” Roper says, pulling one of Mac’s hands and leading him away from the group, “I always thought being in college was so different for us.”

“What makes you say that?” Mac wonders, twisting in Roper’s grip to try and make sure his boys don’t injure anyone.

Roper doesn’t let up and sits him down at a picnic table closer to one booth selling turkey legs. “I don’t know; I used to think the shit we got up to was crazy and dangerous, but then I look at these kids – “

Mac snorts and shrugs. “Our versions of crazy and their versions of crazy are completely different.”

“But that’s what I’m saying,” Roper persists. “Sometimes I look at the track record of some of these boys and cringe. Even Finn wasn’t as bad as that Brock kid you had last year.”

God, Mac hates thinking about it. He’s been a coach for quite some time, and played for even longer than that, but Brock threw him and the entire athletic department for a loop. The kid was 6’2, built like a tank, and could knock any ball out of the park for a home run. He was probably one of the top hitters Baylor had seen in ten years.

However, Brock also had a tendency to use his height and weight for the wrong reasons. It started with a fight at some bar downtown, where he was arrested and suspended for two games. Then, Mac found out he’d been smoking weed off campus with an old high school buddy while he was also failing six of his classes. He suspended him again and tried his best to get him the help he needed. Mac offered a tutoring option, and then a more intense studying session with his teachers, along with a counseling session. That worked for a while, until Mac was called in the middle of the night to go pick up one of his kids from the hospital.

Because Mac is probably the closest mentor/parental figure these kids have at college, he tries to be there for whatever they might need. That includes having his number on their emergency contact list since he was the closest person to get to them if need be. Both he and Roper have a list of students and athletes they watch out for, especially in situations like that.

At first, Mac thought Brock was in the hospital, since he hung up the phone before he could get details. With everything going on with the kid, his mind immediately supplied the guess. Roper got up with him, driving him to the Hillcrest ER as moral support. Only, when they got there, they found two freshmen, Johnson and Wright, sitting in the waiting room, covered in cuts and bruises all over their faces and arms. Mac didn’t even have time to ask what happened before a junior pitcher was rolled out in a wheelchair, looking like he’d been through the wringer.

The poor pitcher handed his phone over to Mac while Roper went and talked to Wright and Johnson. On the phone, Mac could see multiple messages from Brock threatening him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why his pitcher now had a broken arm, nose, and some colorful bruises.

It took twenty-four hours and Brock was being charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, and then taken away in a police car. Mac issued a statement to the media once they caught wind of the situation and cleared it up, confirming that Brock had been arrested and thrown off the team. When he’s feeling particularly petty, he’ll find the clip online and watch as his face on the screen shows utmost joy for getting rid of the kid.

“Well,” Mac sighs, reaching over and dusting a piece of hair away from Roper’s face, “they always say your kids are ten times worse than you were. Maybe coaches get that karma too.”

Roper laughs and leans over the table to press a kiss to Mac’s lips, lingering a bit longer than normal. When he pulls away, Mac can see the happy look on his face, eyes full of mirth and excitement. “All of our children are going to be ten times worse than we are – I hope you know that,” Roper tells him, somehow not at all affected by that knowledge.

Mac pushes him playfully and begins to stand, trying to ignore the manic laughter that echoes from where the dunk tank is stationed. He decides to just leave the area so he’s not tempted and leads Roper back to the front to check on the entrance workers and see if they need any help or food.

An hour later, Mac is back at the dunk tank, taking off his jacket, removing his wallet, phone, and keys to give to Roper, and climbing the ladder to sit in the seat above the water. There are about fifteen athletes cheering and heckling him with an entire line ready to send him to the water. Roper watches on by the sidelines, laughing playfully and sharing grins with the football coach.

“Oh, Jesus, Jax, you threw better than that after pitching for three hours,” Mac teases, just as one of his players misses the target by a mile.

A few other boys step up to take their shot, Mac sending his best ‘disappointed coach face’ at them for each miss. He’s seen some of these boys throw a perfect game in the blistering heat, but they still can’t seem to get him in the water.

Finally, one of the football players who transferred in from Washington steps up and takes aim. Mac feels his stomach drop a little when he notices him. The kid grew up on the side of a mountain, or that’s what Mac’s been told, and he’s built like a Viking. There’s a few murmured gasps around the crowd that’s gathered, and Roper even snorts, shaking his head at the scene.

Before Mac knows it, he’s being dumped straight into the frigid water below, soaking him right to the bone. The crowd cheers when he resurfaces and he gets a few claps for being a good sport. When he’s worked up the courage to brave the weather outside the water, Mac climbs back up to the little seat and sends the mountain man a thumbs up and a bow.

He’s dunked four more times; one time by a child who gets picked up by a football player and carried over to the target to press it with her hand, an excited grin on her face, squealing madly. The second time by two of his own players who hold four balls in their hands at a time, taking turns firing off rounds at the target. The third by a teen, whom Mac met in the summer when he went on his recruiting circuit – the kid has an arm that can land a single target thirty times in a row. And probably the most surprising of them all – by which he means it wasn’t surprising in the slightest, given the arm Roper has on him – Mac gets dunked by his own boyfriend, who cracks the target in one shot, laughing maniacally when Mac plops down into the water.

He’s known Roper for almost as long as he’s been in love with him – Mac knows exactly how Roper throws and how much power he has. It was a lost cause as soon as he stepped up to take the shot. 

Mac grumbles as he exits the tank, sopping wet and shivering when a breeze blows through. Thankfully, there’s a team member waiting by Roper with a towel for Mac, which he takes gratefully. Roper still looks too smug for his own good when Mac approaches, so Mac holds the towel in one hand while he jumps at him, tackling him to the ground and rubbing his cold, wet body all over him. He waits until Roper’s rightfully damp before letting him up and kissing him, wet hair falling in both of their faces. There’s a handful of more cheers, most of which come from his team, and laughter.

It’s a pretty successful night, in Mac’s opinion. Plus, he gets to spend the rest of his night wrapped in warm towels, being fed warm food, and watching as Roper tries to pull all of his players together for a picture.

Roper really gave it his best, but in the end, Mac has to wrangle them up by their shirt collars for them to even get formed in a big group.

* * *

The Sunday following the Halloween night on campus, Mac wakes up to the smell of coffee and maple syrup. He rubs his eyes as he turns over to his back, away from where he’s been all but making out with Roper’s pillow and stretches his legs out. There’s a familiar ache in his back and legs, something that always comes about after a workout, practice, or game. His left knee has really been giving him trouble lately, so he’s probably going to have to get it checked out.

Once he’s stretched the sleep out of his body, Mac climbs out of bed in search of some warmer clothes, other than just wearing his boxers to the kitchen. While Texas weather is always such a fickle thing, the month of October is when it starts to cool off. There was a cold front that blew in the night before, so he knows it’ll be cooler than what it has been.

At least in Lubbock there are more definitive seasons.

Mac slips on a pair of warmer sleep pants and a hoodie that he kept on the dresser before heading downstairs, letting the smell of food lure him.

There’s a song playing on the television in the living where their Spotify is connected, something Mac hasn’t heard before. It’s slow, melodic, something he isn’t expecting Roper to play. Mac turns the corner to find Roper standing at the stove, wearing Mac’s track pants from college and a long-sleeved tee. He’s humming along to the song in the quiet, while he flips the sausage over in the pan below him, bopping his head along. Mac glances over to the counter where a plate of scrambled eggs sits, next to another plate with what looks to be hashbrowns.

“Is it a relationship milestone today?” Mac says thickly as he snuggles up to Roper from behind. Roper startles but recovers quickly once he realizes who is behind him.

“Just wanted to make a big breakfast is all,” he replies, turning his head slightly to give Mac a sweet kiss. “Sleep okay?”

Mac nods and lets the song wash over him. He doesn’t know why he sways with Roper just slightly, but the happy little giggle it pulls from Roper is worth it. Eventually, he pulls away, taking the food to the table before returning to grab plates and silverware. He takes the items to the table and sets them up, following suit with two glasses for juice. Roper finishes up the last of the sausage and drops them onto a plate, carrying everything left over to join the rest of the food. It takes a few more minutes for Mac to get salt and pepper, the coffee pot, and the creamer he likes before the two of them finally sit down.

Once the two of them finish their food in a content silence, Mac begins clearing the table and cleaning up the kitchen. He doesn’t mind cleaning after Roper did most of the cooking work, so he takes his time at the sink. He isn’t paying attention to his boyfriend as he works, and he doesn’t get a chance to prepare himself for Roper’s questions. 

“Do you ever want to get married?”

Three things happen at once: Mac drops the plate he was scrubbing down into the sink. Then, in an effort to mask the noise, he coughs and drips soapy water onto the floor. And just when it can’t get any worse, Mac ends up slipping on the water and crashes to the floor in a heap.

Roper is silent for a moment before he loses it, cackling loudly and far too excited for his own good.

“Oh my god, if I knew that was the reaction I’d get from you, I’d have said something a long time ago,” he wheezes, hiccupping with every breath.

Mac groans at the pain blooming on his tailbone and climbs to his feet, trying to preserve some of his dignity. “Fucking Christ, Kenny,” he whines. He reaches over to turn off the water and then grabs a towel to dry his hands and the floor. “Some warning would have been nice.”

Roper laughs and sidles up to Mac’s body, pinning him against the counter with his hands on Mac’s hips. Mac huffs and acts annoyed, but he really can’t keep it up with Roper looking so smug.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Roper says sweetly. “Should I make a formal appointment in our calendar to discuss marriage?”

“Don’t act sweet. My ass hurts,” Mac complains.

“Want me to rub it for you?”

“You’re not getting laid ever again.”

That makes Roper dissolve into another fit of giggles, which then makes Mac start to lose his composure when the man starts to snort. Soon enough, the two of them are giggling like children, holding onto each other for balance.

Once they’ve calmed down, Mac leans in and kisses Roper soundly. “I really want to be married to you.”

Roper whistles and his eyebrows climb to his forehead. “Did Glen McReynolds actually just talk about his feelings?”

“That’s your only free pass to mock me,” Mac tells him seriously. “Tread lightly.”

With a snuffle from Roper, he wraps his arms around Mac’s shoulders and threads his fingers through his hair, massaging gently. He kisses Mac’s nose, then his lips, and then his forehead. “I’ve just been thinking about it lately for some reason,” he tells Mac, who suddenly feels like Roper can see straight through him. “You know, you’re going to have to get up in front of all our friends and family and tell me how much you love me if we get married.” 

Mac snorts and rolls his eyes fondly, winding his arms around Roper’s waist, pulling him closer to his body. He ponders the thought for a minute. It wouldn’t be bad, per say, if he could just find the words to make it count for something. There aren’t really enough words in the English language to describe how much he loves Roper, and that’s just a fact. 

And then, before he can work himself up, a terrifying thought crosses Mac’s mind and he’s all but choking out a winded, “Finn can not be involved with any of the speeches.” 

That alone sends the two of them into another round of laughter, and the topic of marriage is forgotten for the moment. 

A few hours later, Mac makes an excuse to go for a run alone. Once he gets down the street, he pulls out his phone to delete the text messages he sent to Dale the night prior. There’s way too much incriminating evidence of Mac asking for help with buying a ring. 


End file.
